Tomato Rasam

Ingredients

1 tsp tamrid paste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tomato

1/2 tsp mustard

1/2 Jeera

4 - 5 Curry Leaves

1/8 cup toor dal (pressure cooked)

2 tbsp rasam powder

Steps

• In a pot add 1/2 cup water and cook the tamrid paste. Instead of tamrid paste if you are using whole tamrid, soak it in hot water and then mash it to get the tamrid water. 1 small lemon size tamrid ball should be enough.
• Add the tomato and cooked toor dal to the tamrid water. Also turmeric powder (if your rasam powder does not have turmeric powder) and 2 -3 cups of water. Let it boil for 5 mins.
• Add rasam powder and let it boil for 10 - 15 mins. Include water if necessary.
• Finally in a wok pop mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves in oil/ghee and garnish it in rasam.

Chilli Potato

Ingredients

1. Potatos dipped in salt(pinch) water for atleast 15 min
2. Chopped Onions
3. Chopped Garlic
4. Corn flour ( dry)
5. Corn flour ( wet - add a teaspoon of cornflour in half cup of water)
6. Dry red chilli
7. Chilli sauce
8. Tomato sauce
9. Soya sauce
10. Vinegar
11. Salt to taste
12. Pinch of sugar

Procedure:

1. Chop potatoes slices (thick) and dip in dry corn flour and deep fry.
2. In a kadai , take some oil, add dry red chilli, chopped onions and chopped garlic. Saute till onions turn golden brown.
3. Add capsicum and saute.
4. Add chilli sauce, tomato ketchup ( you can use Maggi sweet and hot sauce also instead of chilli sauce and ketchup), soya sauce and a dash of vinegar.
5. Mix everything well and taste. At this point you can add some salt and a pinch of sugar.
6. Add the wet corn flour. Stir. The sance will start to thicken. You can vary the quantity based on if you would want the dish to be semi-gravy or fully gravy.
7. Add the fried potatos and flip the sauce/masala over the potato. Be careful not to break the potatoes.
8. One indication that you are on the right path is the aroma. You are sure to sense the "chinese" flavour.
9. Put off the flame and transfer to a plate.
10. You can use tooth picks in case its to be used as an appetizer or just serve as a side dish with fried rice or noodles.

Rasam Powder

Ingredients

2 cups Dhania

1/2 cup Whole black pepper

1/2 cup Jeeragam

2 tsp tumeric powder

1/2 cup (almost) toor dal

1 tbsp - channa dal (make the almost 1/2 of toor dal to 1/2 by adding channa dal)

6 - Dry Red chilli

Grind the above (need not be fine).

If you are not adding tumeric powder in the powder add it to the rasam while making it.

Sambar Powder

Ingredients

4 cups coriander seeds

1 cup toor dal

1 tbsp channa dal

10 red chilli

2 tamrid or 1 tsp

3/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup fenugeek seed

grind it fine. If you want to grind in mixy then dry fry the ingredients. This sambar powder is different from dosa sambar powder.

Dosa Sambar

Ingredients

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Mustard

1/2 tsp Asafoetida/perungayam
1/2 Jeera

1 tsp Tamrid paste

1/4 tsp Tumeric powder

1/2 Sambar powder (refer to my other blog)

Other Ingredients

2 tbsp Dosa Sambar powder

1 1/2 tbsp coconut powder

1- 1 1/2 cups Toor Dal boiled

2 tomato sliced

Grind the other ingredients and keep it aside.

Tips - I usually boiled toor dal in pressure cooker, but we can also cook it in microwave as long as you can mash the toor dal finally. For 1 cup of toor dal use 2 cups of water for boiling.

Steps

• Heat oil in a wok and put mustard and let it pop. Add Jeera and asafoetida.
• Choose any vegetables of your choice and add it to the oil and cook for a while (it is easy if you precook the vegetable in microwave).
• It is enough if it is half cooked. Add 1 cup water.
• Add 1 tsp tamrid paste and let it get cooked (optional but I usually add).
• Once the tamrid is cooked, add the grinded ingredient.
• Add sambar powder, tumeric, salt. Some coriander leaves Let the content get boiled, add let it boil for 10 - 15 mins in medium heat and the sambar is done.

Variations for Arachu vita sambar

Same steps as above except, add tamrid and the sambar powder (little) (this is not the dosa sambar powder but the normal one). Note vegetables can be anything.

Dosa Sambar - Powder

Ingredients

2/3 cup Coriander seeds

1/3 cup Channa dal

6 - Dry red chilli

10 -15 Fenugeek seeds

Steps

1) Add all of the above ingredients in a wok and dry fry without oil.

2) Cool and then grind

I usually use this powder for making dosa sambar and for any poriyal (cooked vegetable) to taste like podimas.

Thogayal (without coconut)

Ingredients

toor dal - 1/4 cup

red chilli - 2

hing

1 tsp oil

Oil fry the above until light brown.

Other ingredients

1/4 tsp Tamrid paste

salt to taste

2 tbsp water

Grind the fried ingredients with tamrid, salt and water.